


Where to Look

by corvidae9



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU as of HBP, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-01-21
Updated: 2007-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:22:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29484390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corvidae9/pseuds/corvidae9
Summary: Some things are just funny. And some things are just inevitable. (Snape/Lupin, post-war)
Relationships: Remus Lupin/Severus Snape
Kudos: 4





	Where to Look

**Author's Note:**

> written for karasu_hime, who regularly, generously gives freely of their own wonderful talent, in the 2007 dearsanta exchange. merrycontrary and juice817 gave me last-minute moral support, ideas, beta-read, and generally made this better, and I would be lost without them and the world should know how great they are.

It was the sort of unforgiving winter day that Severus despised the most, and for a man like Severus, this was saying quite a lot. Cold, he could deal with. Snow constituted an easily avoided inconvenience. But ice-- the stuff persisted on shadowy sections of pavement and refused to disappear; it was treacherous, changeable, damn near invisible. It had uses, certainly, but generally was a pain in the arse.

He also refrained from ever stating as much to anyone. For one thing, he wasn't about to admit a weakness. For another, he'd be forced to kill anyone stupid enough to draw parallels or misuse the word 'irony'. His days of shady violence were over the day that Potter brat had finally put a fist-sized hole through the Dark Lord and fallen over into the arms of his waiting true love or some similar idiocy. Cue fanfare, violins, happily ever afters, et cetera ad nauseum. For his part, Severus was glad to be left alone; name cleared and yet still fearsome enough to cause a nervous murmur in his wake.

Actually, being alone would be the third reason that he'd never say anything about his utter loathing for the icy pavement that made his usual method of aggressive forward locomotion more difficult. Bottom line-- he had no one to say it to. Which was perfectly _fine_.

Unfortunately, he could do nothing about it today-- the striding across icy pavement, of course-- he was low on supplies, his last payment for a particularly taxing batch of potions had been late and the upcoming deadline for the next was looming short. He absolutely refused to buy ingredients via owl unless absolutely necessary, lest he be stuck with second-rate ingredients. Merchants were well-known for taking the opportunity to bilk the unsuspecting, and woe to those who thought Severus was the unsuspecting type. The thought alone made him scowl more deeply, and any of the few people on the same side of the street who were not already moving carefully out of his path suddenly found that now was a good time to do so.

Two doors from the Apothecary on Diagon Alley, there was one person who didn't flinch-- in fact didn't even seem to look up-- but Severus didn't particularly care, not at all. He narrowed his eyes and kept moving as the figure continued... doing whatever it was doing in front of what had been a chocolatier's shopfront for all of a month before the war had escalated and had remained empty ever since. He sniffed, certain that it was of no consequence and likely to become something just as imbecilic this time around.

That is, until the figure turned and Severus realized why the set of the wizard's shoulders had been so familiar, and why he had set his jaw so tightly and...

...why his only response to the other's wizard's warm greeting was to somehow step onto a patch of hidden ice and swear murderously as he fell directly onto his arse.

~**~*~*~**~ 

Remus was ready to kill his adoptive godson. Which for a man like Remus, was saying a hell of a lot.

 _"We're family,"_ Harry had insisted. _"All that's left and I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."_ Remus didn't want to take his money, and so Harry had gone and bought it himself-- or at least he had someone these days to help him work out just how to do so in the Wizarding world, and Remus was glad for him, truly. Except for the parts where Harry used the help to go and buy a bloody shopfront for his not-really-related-at-all werewolf friend and then used the glare that made the lights flicker and the property documents curl at the edges when Remus tried to give them back.

Stubborn. Worse than his mum and dad combined. Remus might otherwise have nothing but sympathy for the poor soul that had somehow ended up volunteering to put up with Harry's bull-headedness, but that soul was neither particularly wilting nor poor, and would probably be just fine. The thought made Remus smile briefly as he stood in the narrow doorway of his shop, bundled against the weather and working on hand-lettering the window in the door-- one of the many skills he'd picked up here and there.

The few people out on the Alley began to drift away from his side of the street, and he carefully finished the 'B', replaced the brush in the paintpot and looked up, only to find Severus Snape glaring and stalking down the pavement directly toward him. Reflexively, he wiped the palms of his suddenly clammy hands on the sides of his denims (even though he was wearing fingerless gloves) willing his voice smooth and steady as he cracked a small, warm smile.

"Good afternoon, Severus. It's been a while."

Unexpected as it was, Severus suddenly falling out of Remus' line of sight and onto his arse was... hilarious. Remus barked a laugh before he could stop himself, crossing his arms and covering his mouth with one hand.

Though the look on Severus' face was absolutely murderous, all Remus could do was try and laugh more quietly as he tilted his head and stepped forward to offer a hand up.

"Ice is a right killer today. Alright there?"

~**~*~*~**~ 

Severus stared at the outstretched hand as one might regard a poisonous adder, lip curling in a sneer as he set his hand down on the pavement to try and push himself off of the ground. " _Thank you, no_ ," he growled, the cold seeping through his own gloves.

"Here now," said Lupin, who had smoothed out his expression as he crouched further, insistent fingers closing around Severus' elbow. "Please, let me--"

"As if you hadn't gained enough entertainment out of this situation, Lupin," Severus seethed, indignant in his defense of what little pride was left to be reclaimed here and now. The last thing he needed was Lupin's false sympathy after he had so clearly enjoyed Severus' misfortune. He'd rather hex the wolf to hell and back than admit even to himself that Lupin's scorn was the most difficult to bear, and made worse by the fact that Severus had not seen him since Lupin had testified on his behalf in front of the Wizengamot. 'A brave man,' he'd said-- had sworn. 'Willing to do whatever was necessary'; 'worthy of admiration,' he had said, with a look that had cut right through Severus; that made him think perhaps Lupin's recent courtesy was something more than required formality.

And yet here he was, laughing his arse off at Severus's own arse on the freezing pavement after eight bloody months of showing neither hide nor hair of his accursed, misbegotten, mongrel self. Eyes narrow and now trained on where the unnatural heat of Lupin's fingers closed around his arm, Severus was angry as much as embarrassed, and half again something else he'd tried to bury when he walked out of the Ministry a free man, only to find that there was no one waiting.

"Release me," Severus hissed, yanking his arm back harder than he thought possible, intending only to pull it away and not at all wagering that Lupin would be loathe to give it up.

Lupin's eyes went wide and suddenly the werewolf's face was rushing toward him, and all Severus could do was grimace and brace himself.

~**~*~*~**~ 

'More than he may seem,' Remus remembered saying in the Wizengamot trial of Severus Snape, who very nearly had not walked free despite the statements of a handful of wizards including Harry, who at the time could do no wrong, and the last will and testament of Albus Dumbledore. And yes, even the testimony of a werewolf who very narrowly escaped the lockup himself. A werewolf that had been politely escorted via Apparation to some destination in the French countryside and asked not to come back for a while, if ever. One who very nearly hadn't come back at all, and probably would not have, if not for Harry.

Remus hadn't had to lie or force any of his testimony. All he had to do was cast a glance in Severus' direction and he was reminded immediately of why he'd been fascinated for so long-- the utterly Slytherin way Snape went about being the most stupidly courageous wizard Remus knew, the lack of regard for anyone who didn't like him, or hell-- lack of regard for anyone at all. It was unapologetic, calculated, and bloody well _attractive_.

Err. Perhaps that was not exactly the word he should've been thinking at the moment in which he attempted to help Severus off of the ground. It was not the word that popped into his mind when he was unexpectedly jerked off of his feet, and certainly not the word that rolled off of his tongue as he realized that he was falling forward. Directly onto Severus.

That word was far more vulgar. _Words_ , rather.

~**~*~*~**~ 

First it was his arse and hand that were frozen through. Then it was Lupin being a bastard. And finally, it was Lupin toppling over onto him, bowling him over and landing in a sprawl over him, face smashed up against Severus' throat, and precisely where he _did not_ need to be.

" _Fucking hell_ is right! Get off of me, you imbecile," Severus growled low, already shoving at the other wizard who was suddenly shaking. "Have your seizure elsewhere."

It was not, however, a seizure. The moron was laughing. _Laughing_. Again. Severus shoved again and Lupin had suddenly planted a hand over his shoulder on the pavement, amber eyes still crinkled at the corners as he grinned down at Severus. "Sorry now, aren't you? I'm heavier than I look."

Severus glared unproductively, the wolf's proximity and position infuriating him. Yes, fury. That's _exactly_ the emotion that Severus was feeling, right down to the fingers clenched tight and the shallow exhalations. Because that's what _fury_ felt like. If anyone knew that, it was Severus.

Fury and related emotions with related symptoms also tend to interfere with one's game; make one say things that are seemingly non-sequiturs; make one suddenly stop struggling when one should be tossing scrawny-looking werewolves across a street and then hexing their bollocks into a knot.

"Damn you for laughing at me, Lupin," snarled Severus. "Have you no one else left to mock?"

Lupin's grin softened, corner twitching upward in an unreadable lip quirk before he stood silently and swiftly, bracing his feet against Severus' own. He then squatted, took hold of the front of Severus' robes, and heaved upward in a strong tug. Severus could only glare as Lupin's lycanthropic strength pulled him to his feet as if he were some sort of doll.

"Severus," began the miserable wolf with no trace of derision, eyes never once leaving his own. "Some things are just funny."

Compulsively dusting off his robes, Severus said, "Losing a hard-won sense of pride and decorum is _not amusing_."

"Oh, yeah it is," murmured Lupin as he dusted what may or may not have been an imaginary speck off of the arm of Severus' robes. "You just need to know where to look."

"I assure you," Severus said, eyes following Lupin's hand for a brief moment before locking back on his own. "I need nothing of the sort."

"I assure you," said Lupin with a small smile. "You do."

Severus looked past the werewolf at the sign of what appeared to now be named 'Full Moon Books', empty shelves and dusty, empty display cases scattered in no particular order inside visible through places where the brown paper had come away from the dingy windows, and he managed a nasty smirk. "I see one now."

Unbelievably, Lupin followed his line of sight and then chuckled again. "Hell yes, that's one. It needs so much help, I don't even know when to expect an opening." Lupin turned back to Severus with a shrug. "As I said, you've got to know where to look."

Shrinking back from Lupin's madness lest it be contagious, Severus finally took a step back and away, not once allowing himself to imagine that he'd seen anything other than mockery in the wolf's expression.

Oh, well--damn and blast. That was patently untrue. Yet stubborn to the last, Severus sneered and walked away without another word, ignoring Lupin completely as he called to him down the street.

"Come back any time you'd like."

Damn the wolf straight to hell for being sincere.

~**~*~*~**~ 

Remus called out his invitation as a last-ditch effort; one that surprised even himself with when he realized he just couldn't watch Severus walk away. Not without one last try.

Still, he watched the black robes disappear into the Apothecary and couldn't shake the feeling that he just had.

~**~*~*~**~ 

It had probably been all of twenty-four hours since he'd been there last, and Severus was not naive enough to think he didn't know why. It was perhaps more that he didn't _believe_ in why. He'd gone home to the chilly basement flat he'd let after the destruction of Spinner's End and brewed obsessively as he thought about the encounter with Lupin, and as his potions sat in a cooling rack, had made a decision.

As such, he raised his hand to knock, but the door to Lupin' shop had already begun to pull open from the inside, a tousled and paint-spattered Lupin offering what was definitely a surprised smile, though Severus imagined 'nervous' as well as 'eyes traveling the length of Severus' body'. (He rarely imagined things, but when he did, he did nothing by halves.)

Besides, Severus had expected this entirely-- it was all confusion and nothing more, doubtless as this was one of the first times that any other person alive had seen him wearing Muggle clothes. Black trousers, shirt, and coat, to be precise; working clothing, but Muggle clothing that somehow retained an air of command, nonetheless.

"Severus-- hello," Lupin said, brow furrowing as he spoke through a confused grin. "I-- what?"

Severus rolled his eyes and cocked his head toward the inside of the shop. "You indicated that you could use assistance with the shop. I am... offering my services."

"In that case," said Lupin, grin growing bright enough to light up the entryway, the whole damnable interior of the shop as a matter of fact, and in the very deepest recess of Severus' stomach, a long-held hope twitched once and turned over, indicating that it was far from dead or gone. "I could definitely use them," Lupin added, stepping back out of the doorway in order to gesture Severus in. "Please. Come in."

Taking a deep breath, Severus did, and when he saw the dust and disarray from close up, touched his fingertips to his temple. "You're going to turn this into a bookshop...?"

"That's the plan," Lupin said as he shut and secured the door again, wandering back into the shop proper wearing a ridiculous look of pride combined with chagrin. "Mind you, I was a victim of the plan, too, but I've grown rather fond."

Severus barked a laugh, and once that was done and in the wide world, loosed another. "Who, praytell, inflicted said plans upon you?"

For a moment, Lupin seemed to be tilting his head at Severus in confusion yet again, but he finally answered in a wry, bemused tone. "That would have been our Harry and company."

"He can be your _Potter_ , Lupin. Not mine," sneered Severus, tone and expression toxic. "I won't take responsibility for that one."

The shop was quiet for a moment and Severus was absolutely certain he'd said the wrong thing. He'd done it before, he'd do it again-- there was no need for surprise there, yet this time--

Lupin laughed suddenly and thumped Severus on the shoulder, leaving his hand there as he teased, "Yes, well. I keep trying to wash my hands of the boy myself, and he seems to have bought me property. What am I going to do?"

"I've no idea," mused Severus, officially out of known territory.

The hand on Severus' shoulder squeezed gently as Lupin cocked his head toward the stairs that no doubt led to the flat above. "Tea while you help me work it out? And then we'll finish up the painting?"

"A not altogether bad idea," murmured Severus, watching his step again, as if ice might suddenly form under his feet and send him crashing to the ground.

"Ah. Stick around," smiled Lupin as he led the way, head down but ineffectual at hiding from Severus a flush creeping slowly up to suffuse his face. "There are bound to be one or two."


End file.
